shores. the bay area man that worked -- behind those walls tells us more about the plant. . complete, bay area news coverage starts right now. this is bay area news at 7:00. good evening, t. is thursday march 17th, i'm gasia mikaelian, this is bay area news at 7:00. moments ago a new report of smoke, rising from a damaged nuclear plant in japan. the officials say it could take weeks to stabilize the situation. helicopter crews work inside 40 minute shifts, dumping seawater. on the ground they tried using water cannons but they were

forced back by levels. so far it is unclear what is causing this even's smoke. president barack obama had a seufpl -- this evening's smoke. president barack obama had a simple message. >> we do not expect harmful levels of radiation to reach the united states, if it is the west coast, hawaii, alaska or u.s. territories in the pacific. let me repeat that. we do not expect harmful levels of radiation to reach the west coast, hawaii, alaska or u.s. territories in the pacific. >> the nuclear fall out is our top story tonight at 7:00. john is live in oakland hills where he has been gaging. >> reporter: whatever is coming into california will come from the pacific ocean. everyone we talked to seems concerned about the dangers from a radioactive plume. >> reporter: at oakland's fire

station 1 the home of the city's office of emergency services the officials say the radiation from japan is not a threat to northern california. >> we see little or no threat to any health concerns or any direct harm to anybody in the bay area. >> and in downtown oakland it is hard to find anyone who was worried. >> i think it is inconsider at that people are taking the iodine tablets when we should send it over to japan. >> is there anything i need to do? anything i can do? no, nothing to do. >> reporter: one man expressed concern and doubts what the government here or japan is saying. >> like anybody's fears we will start glowing and in this case i am more concerned about the japanese people. >> reporter: in a small office in livermore, someone else who does not trust what the government says but kelly from try valley cares or a community against a raid active

environment says the damage is minimal. and the government experts it will not reach california. >> reporter: still, she has her radiation detector to be on the lookout for rise in radiation levels in the coming days. >> ktvu channel 2 news. state officials are urging californians to remain calm. any radiation is not a threat to public health. >> if you want to exercise precaution make a kit. do not take iodine. >> if radiation reaches california it will be at levels those equivalent to levels in everyday life. they are screening aircraft

cargo and passengers. but we met up with passengers out of tokyo saying no one tested his luggage with a hand wand. >> they did not do anything there. yeah, so, yes, everything was totally normal. >> the government has not revealed spectaculars about the testing plans but say -- specifics about the testing plans but they do not want passengers to be surprise if they notice radiation testing. back in japan they are trying to replenish electricity to fukushima. >> reporter there is an effort to keep one of the six reactors and a fuel pool from overheat. >> if we can just buy time and stabilize the situation i think that is what probably people are shooting for in the near term. >> reporter: radiation levels at the plant remain high. residents evacuated but plant workers are at risk. >> it is not that they are on a

suicide mission and will die immediately but in the remainder of their life they increased the likelihood of cancer by a lot. >> reporter: the pentagon announced on thursday that the team is sending a team to help assess the situation and make recommendations. president barack obama reiterated the united states's commitment to the recovery after signing a book of condolences at the japanese embassy in washington. >> the japanese people are not alone in this time of great trial and sorrow. across the pacific they will find a hand of support extended from the united states as they get back on their feet. >> reporter: outside of the zone much-needed supplies are beginning to arrive at markets and shelters. a small sign of progress for the survivor who's have been dealt so many set backs. >> have not had time to think about coping, just getting everybody taken care of is most important. >> reporter: thursday, the state department announce today

is using chartered planes to evacuate hundreds of family members of diplomats from japan. in washington, i'm samantha hayes. it is friday in japan where the stock average is up sharpiely. the g-7 or group of 7 has agreed to help ease a spike in the srau of the japanese yen. since the quake it hit a record high against the dollar. now, to wall street, stocks rebounded from 3 days of losses and finish in the green you can say on this saint patrick's day. the dow gained, and the nasdaq rose 19. we have more ahead in the next 10 minutes, you will hear from a man who once worked inside of the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant and now lives in the bay area. the price for a bay area home dropped for the 5th straight month. according to the tracking firm the median price in the bay

area was $325,000. it is 4% lower than one year ago. home sales rose just a touch. forechoseures made up one third of punches. at the state capitol voting is underway as lawmakers try to reach a state budget deal. so far the lawmakers have passed the main budget deep. half of the state's $26.6 billion deficit. done through cuts and fund transfers. now the legislature has to settle two of the most critical issues in governor brown's proposal. the elimination of redevelopment agencies and a decision on a special election asking voters to extend taxes. >> before we ask for more tax extensions we need to reduce things at the state level. >> there is a worldview that is as don't cut and don't tax. >> a vote on the tax extension may not happen until monday after republicans hold their state convention this weekend.

the u.s. senate approved a budget fix that keeps the government running for another 3 weeks. the senate voted on the new spending measure, 87-13. it cut $6 billion in federal spending and now goes to president barack obama for approval. the measure buys time for the white house and congress to find an agreement on spending for the remainder of the fiscal year that ends october 1st. a new field poll shows more than a third of californians feel they are financial worse off than a year ago. overall, 38% say their personal financial well being has deteriorated but the biggest group, 50%, said they no change in their financees, while 12% say they are better off than a year ago. the second field poll question shows 47% of voters don't think immigration has an impact on the state's overall quality of life. 39% say they think immigration lowered the quality of life and 10% think it made things better. at this hour the police in

oakland are serpbing for a man, -- searching for a man they say stole a car and crashed it into another car. the crash happened three hours ago at 60th avenue and camdon street. the suspect was driving a vehicle that was carjacked last week. the car ran two stop signs and hit a vehicle with two adults and four children inside. the suspect climbed a fence and ran away. four people in that second car suffered nonlife-threatening injuries. the district attorney says white power groups are beating groups there is a rise of hate crimes. >> as a result of the case it furthered our intelligence our

understanding of white supremecy groups here. prosecutors in the barry bonds perjury trial were dealt a set back in san fran federal court. the judge is barring the jury frehearing recordings of angry voicemails he left for his then mistress, kimberly bell. he was experiencing so-called roid rage. jury selection is set to begin on monday. a lab technician at yale university, charged with killing a woman in 2009, changed his me today in connecticut. raymond clark iii pled guilty to murder and attempted sexual assault. prosecutors say he strangled 24- year-old annie lay before hiding her in a wall at her research lab. it happened days before her planned marriage. it is part of a deal that gives clark a 44 year prison

sentence. an attorney for lay's family says they are satisfied with the punishment. i never thought this would happen. >> he once worked at the crippled nuclear plant in japan. tonight, his recollections about what he saw inside of those wallsism the beauty of the coastline near big sir is marred from highway 1. it will cause a lot of problems before it will be repaired. that story, coming up. another storm racing towards the bay area. coming up, when the heaviest rain is expected for tomorrow. the timing of a second storm th

. caltrans says it is working on the long awaited tunnel from the oakland side boring. >> the crews have been working from the other side. when our cameras went to that

site the boring machine was not operating. these photos show it is a third of the way through the tunnel. the $420 million project will add two lanes to highway 24. geologist are looking at a collapsed freeway near big sir. they are calling it mysterious and catastrophe. robert honda reports. >> reporter: big sir is considered, by many, the most beautiful coastline in the world. but now there is a very ugly and scary collapsed sectioned of highway 1 south of carmel near rocky point cutting off all traffic on highway 1 to and from the town of big sir. >> this is one thing that i wanted to see was big sir. to not be able to get there is a little disappointing. >> reporter: the collapse that started yesterday evening was a mystery. workers say there has not been much rain here and no mudslides. the collapsed section is solid rock that cracked off leaving a sleep slope to the ocean.

caltrans says a team of experts is brought in to determine what happend and what can be done. >> with a catastrophe failure like this some of the easy fixes aren't going to happen. >> reporter: cal trans is aware a picture like this can scare off a lot of visitors so caltrans spectacularly asked us to remind bay area visitors that businesses in and around big sir are open. all though there are longer alternative routes using highways 101, 68 and 46 it does not help the rocky point restaurant that is off of highway 1 just before the collapsed section. but past the point many cars turn around and leave. >> right now the business is, of course, very slow because there is absolutely no traffic. >> reporter: and caltrans says it could stay that way for months. right now, what is left of the collapsed section is still cracking and moving. at big sir, robert honda, ktvu channel 2 news. surfers held a memorial for a surfer who died last night off of pillar point.

some of those that admired him paddled out where the father of two drowned after catching a 22 foot high. he flew in from hawaii after learning the waves would be among the largest ever. people around the bay area are celebrating saint patrick's day. this are a lot of festivities throughout the day. [music] >> in oakland there was a party at civic center plaza where everyone was irish for the day. [ laughter ] >> how is this for happy hour? part of san francisco's financial district is a sea of green tonight where an annual block party is underway. people are enjoying live music and as you can see boots full of beer at the patrick's -- saint patrick's day celebration. the party is on front street between california and sacramento. the party goes on until 2:00

a.m. every day saint patrick's day at the irish invasion center. 22 high-tech businesses with ties to ireland work out of the center. ireland has been hit by the economic downturn many of the residents hope to make their mark in high-tech industries. it mays a key role. the united nations today stepped into the fight for controll of libya. they approved a no my zone to protect civilians. gadhafi promised to take over. rebels shot two planes down. secretary of state, hillary clinton, says no ground intervention is considered. it is unclear what role the u.s. military will play. as we told you a bit earlier here, 20 minutes ago, officials in japan reported more smoke rising from a nuclear reactor at the fukushima power plant t. is coming from the buildings where crews have been working around the clock to cool the

overheated reactors with water. nuclear officials say it could take weeks to stabilize the situation. a bay area man gave us a unique look inside of the power plant where they are scrambling to hold off a meltdown. a fellow engineer at the plant. he told us about the problems he discovered this more than 10 years ago. >> i just did a routine survey. >> reporter: the man in the faded picture is this man 30 years ago. the former engineer's first time inside of a nuclear reactor at the fukushima power plant. >> they had to take the fuel out and drain it down and clean it up and put a lead work platform down there. they sent american workers over to do the job. suck up the radiation. >> reporter: it is the same plant where last week's earthquake and tsunami knocked out power and in danger of releasing radiation. >> i am blown out of the water. i never thought this would happen. i don't think a lot of my friends thought it was going to

happen. i would love their thoughts if they are alive. >> reporter: he work inside a repair unit for general e electricity inspecting plants around the world until ge laid him off in 1998. >> i was one of the better workers around. >> reporter: he was punish inside part for blowing the whistle on safety problems at fukushima. >> the japanese say that is -- that is old. you know, used. not a very good condition reactor. >> reporter: at his house, he showed us a log book and notes he kept for more than 20 years. >> why did you hold on to this? >> because i wanted to -- i just kept them because -- a lot of times you have lessons learned from each plant. >> reporter: even he is as there is little jap apcould of done to withstand a disaster like this one. in martinez, ktvu channel 2 news. for more coverage and a link that explains where to donate to victims in japan click on the quake tab when you

get to our home page, ktvu.com. on-line fans of the gray lady will have to shell out green. the "new york times" announced for plans of a pay wall. march 28th, digital users can read up to 20 articles a month for free. unlimited access will be $15 to $20 depending on the mobile device you have. drinking and driving and getting away with it. the chp tries to make a point by looking the other way on these impaired drivers. >> and more wet weather arrives tomorrow. meteorologist mark tamia tells us the areas to feel the affects during the morning commute. we are streaming live on the web at ktvu.com.

. students and faculty cleaned up along the shorelines. part of the two-day celebration of the university on the shores of the lake. back then it was brush covered by wildland. it say celebration of the holy

name's president doctor william heinz. they had great weather for the cleanup. good thing they are not out there now. >> yes. already the clouds are on the increase and the rainfall rates will pick up across the bay area. another storm racing towards our shoreline. the maps on storm tracker 2. we have clouds in the south bay but reports of light rain in  the north bay closer to point rays and santa rosa. a few sprinkles and light showers closing in. the rates will continue to pick up. especially in the north bay for the morning commute. tonight, we will thicken up the clouds. tomorrow, the next storm, the possibility of a few scattered thunderstorms. this weekend, off and on showers for this saturday. there is another storm that will impact our storm for the second half of the weekend. for tonight, increase in the wind speeds coming in out of the south. around 20 miles an hour. still clouds. here we go. the approach of the frontal system. this will bring us the rainfall for tomorrow. rain, wind, once the cold air moves in you will feel it for tomorrow. that is when it could trigger a

few thunderstorms across the bay area. pretty much anywhere. that will be a concern for tomorrow and also into your weekend. some of the details into the next storm set for friday. we are expecting the heaviest rainfall around 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. possibly 3:00 tomorrow afternoon. rainfall about a quarter of an inch in the south bay. could be 1 1/2 inches in the north bay coastal hills. winds gusting to 40 miles an hour. so far no wind advisories posted. it could change first thing tomorrow. the commute tomorrow morning, the best collapse of rape fall will be up in the north bay. we will continue to put this in motion. there we go as the front slides to the south. the rainfall slides to the south as l. midmorning into the afternoon hours and by 5:00 still lingering rain focused in parts of the east bay and the south bay. by this time tomorrow, scattered rain showers. this is the overall pattern heading into saturday. temperatures for tomorrow afternoon. we are cooling off. we started cooling off today. it kicks in for the cooling

trend kicks in for tomorrow. san francisco, 65, san skwroes a59. morgan hill, 58 degrees. cold enough as we head into friday night and saturday. snow levels coming down to 2500 feet. off and on cold showers for the saturday. another storm that will move into the region on sunday. it could be packing heavy rain and sours likely into next week for monday -- and showers likely into next week for monday. >> mark, thank you. people were drinking and driving today at the infinity raceway with the full pwhretszing of the california highway patrol -- blessing of the california highway patrol. >> it is scary. >> i am scared. >> yes. all part of the chp saint patrick's day sobriety challenge. they tried to complete maneuvers after drinking beer or wine. the event demonstrates how you can be impaired even if your blood alcohol does not exceed the legal limit. that is our report for tonight. our coverage continues on line at ktvu.com and with tonight's 10:00 news over on ktvu channel

2. tmz is up next right here on tv36